#National Parks CDROM
4 messages in this thread
I have the National Parks CD ROM too. It works ok on my Trident 8900CL at
800x600x256colors. What resolution with the ATI Ultra Pro are you running? Do
you have the latest version (build) of the drivers? Try running with the
standard windows VGA driver. Yes, it's a pain, but the problem may lie with
the ATI drivers.
I have some problems with the CD ROM. The videos are very jerky, they must be
playing at a higher rate than other videos I've seen on CD ROM. Also the depth
of information is shallow. For instance selecting campgrounds lists just the
number or type. Not number of sites, amenities, etc. I'm looking for a
multimedia version of the AAA tour and camping books!
Paul
I finally got the problem solved. I had misread the instructions and failed to
run the setup. However, this is a very disappointing CD. I share your
complaints. It is a good idea done without much depth – the one thing CDROMs
are capable of providing. I have not been able to play the videos, but I
thought this was due to some quirk of my system. Since you are having the
problem too, and since I have no trouble with other CD videos, I have to assume
it is faulty programming.
Thanks for your note.
I tried an experiment with the videos. Since the files in the \npvideo
directory are .AVI files, I copied a few to my hard disk. I then ran a program
by Ron Wodaski, VIDTEST, that runs AVI files and reports on the number of
frames skipped. When run from the CD-ROM, over 90% of the frames are skipped.
When run from the hard disk 10% or less are skipped! The difference is quite
noticeable. In some cases, 0 frames were skipped. This may be due in part to
a disk cache.
I think these videos are meant to be played back at a higher rate (300KB/s?)
than other videos. Some people have suggested that the PAS 16 card is limited
in speed in its SCSI port, and I'm beginning to think this is true. Even
though Mediavision claims the port can handle 590KB/s. One of these days, I'm
going to borrow a SCSI card and see if the performance improves, especially
with National Parks.
I haven't sent in my NP registration card yet. I intend to put a few comments
on it concerning the videos and depth of information!
Paul
I have run various test programs on CD-ROMs connected to the PAS, and i never
quite get reports of 300 kps. Best I ever did is 296, and I've gottenas low as
250.
Even if the drive is getting 296kps across, that's no good — the data on the
CD is designed to be read at 300 kps, so when the drive can't quite get all the
data in one pass, it has to go all the way around again. I assume this is the
cause for the delays.
I was never able to use the PAS to access 300kbs AVI files. When I put in a
simple, cheap, Trantor SCSI card (the 130b), I was isntantly able to ready
300kbs AVI files.
QED: It's the PAS.
Ron